hollywood billionaire

Chapter 317 My Performance (Part )

"Oh, my god."

Hidden inside the man-made mountain, the elevator door behind the replica of the Hollywood sign slowly opened. Madison Beer looked out and his pupils shrank suddenly.

How could there be... so many people?

Although the crowds in the Coca-Cola dining area in the distance were still relatively sparse, a large group of people had already gathered in front of the main stage. The iron horses in the first row were packed to the brim, extending to the main console in the center of the venue, before the density finally declined.

According to a rough estimate, the total number of spectators currently in the venue is at least 20,000.

If we include the long queue outside and the late comers entering the venue in an orderly manner, the number should be close to 40,000.

How many music festivals can attract more than half of the fans to the venue before the first performer even takes the stage?

too crazy!

"If I hadn't known that you weren't playing, Madison..." Tour manager Dylan Buckman, who was following Tracy McGrady, looked at his watch, "I can't believe it's still ten minutes to four o'clock."

"Yeah, we were discussing this issue just now." The stagehand squatting at the elevator entrance pulled two cables closer to Madison, "Dylan and I have been working on stage construction in Las Vegas for so many years, and we haven't seen each other yet. For this kind of scene... usually there are less than a thousand people at the beginning, and the number of people will gradually increase when the sun goes down. The venue will not be full until nightfall."

"Have you discussed any convincing theories, Matthew?" Madison interacted with them with interest, which was one of her ways to relieve tension. Moreover, this is not the first time they have met. Maddie rehearsed three times, and the two stagehands were responsible for her safety in the artificial Hollywood Hills.

"The discussion is over." Matthew smiled and spread his hands, glanced at his colleagues, and then at Madison, "You."

"Me?" Madison was stunned, "What's wrong with me?"

"Our theory is 伱." Matthew pointed down, "These people are here to see you."

"Then your discussion may have gone off topic." Madison smiled and shook his head, "How could it be because of me? I have never seen such a big scene myself."

"I...can't explain clearly, Barry is more familiar with your...Hollywood terms." Matthew raised his arm and motioned Madison to look at the other side of the elevator.

"I'm not particularly sure, I'm just paying a little attention." Barry was obviously much younger than Matthew, who already had gray hair. The big, honest man smiled shyly and reservedly, and said, "I don't know if you I am familiar with the discussions on Reddit, but most netizens believe that in the music industry, we can see the rise of phenomenal female pop singers every year and win the favor of the entire United States."

"And more and more people agree that you are the one who will rise in 2016."

"It wouldn't be me in a million years."

It's always nice to hear compliments, but Madison Beal still keeps a clear head.

After all, she had experienced the current wave of praise when she first entered the industry.

What was the final result?

"If there is a phenomenal female singer, it should be Horsi. "Closer" has won the title ten times in a row."

"But she's not popular enough. Yes, the song "Closer" is played everywhere in the streets, and that's true, but Holsh herself is more independent." It seems that Barry is really keen on it In the pop music world, there is considerable research on the distinction between these music types and different artist types. Without understanding the overall situation, his observation was quite accurate, "No matter how good her grades are or how famous she is, no one will call her 'main pop girlie'."

"Then I can?" Madison pointed at her nose and joked.

"Yes, after all you..." Barry was about to answer, but suddenly his expression froze, and then he quickly lowered his head and fiddled with the safety rope, "Maddie, please... stand up a little."

"Okay." Madison responded, raising her body slightly so that the hook could fasten the metal ring at the waist of the costume.

Maddie didn't continue to question Barry because she knew why he hesitated to speak. What he wants to say is that the reason why Madison Beer can be called "main pop girlie" is probably related to her appearance.

It stands to reason that "Cold Water"'s three consecutive Billboard wins will bring Major Lazer and Diplo further into the mainstream view, and will also add another touch of glory to Justin Bieber's smooth career that started in 2015, but no matter how you look at it, It wasn't supposed to be the song that would propel Madison Beer to stardom after a two-year hiatus.

After all, in the officially released version of this song, Madison only has a bridge, which is less than half a minute of performance time. Just look at the established original singer M from the previous life and you will know. "Cold Water" has indeed won her many honors, such as becoming the highest-ranking Danish artist on the Billboard chart together with Lucas Graham. At the same time, this song also allowed her to successfully top the British singles chart, not only giving her the first number one single in her career, but also making her the fourth Danish singer in history to win the title in the UK. .

These titles sound bluffing, but people in the music industry who are truly immersed in the music industry know that the gain effect "Cold Water" brings to M is less than one-tenth of that of "Lean On", and it is not even as good as herself. The hit single "Final SOng" was released in May 2016.

In the final analysis, it is because of the lack of M-star flavor and unforgettable brand image that it was completely covered up in the two huge shadows of producer Diplo and main singer Justin Bieber.

But Madison Beale is fundamentally different from M.

The difference is that before the release of "Cold Water", the former had an online influence that, although not irreplaceable, can never be ignored. She has four million Instagram fans and almost the same number of Twitter fans. She is an artist. The most solid foundation for your career.

Madison Beer, just like Bella Perch who will explode on Tik Tok four years later, uses platform traffic as a catalyst to fuel the attention of her music career, and organically combines the two, and finally in 2021 became a pop culture phenomenon.

In other words, in the four years since her debut, the potential energy that Madison has accumulated bit by bit through her innate advantages is destined to snowball rapidly once she can make a breakthrough in music, both online and offline, in and outside the industry.

What kind of innate advantages are there?

Of course, those are the three words that stagehand Barry was reluctant to say just now, afraid to say them publicly for fear of being labeled a "misogynist".

She.

Is.

Pretty.

Madison Beale is not only good-looking, but also the kind that can become the aesthetic template of European and American society, textbook-like, good-looking without blind spots or gaps.

Fans have no say in this kind of thing. If you really want the most objective evaluation, you have to look at the comments of those haters who have a negative attitude towards her popularity and who want her to disappear from the public space in the next second.

"No one denies that she is beautiful, but for some reason, she is not my cup of tea. I feel like her beauty is very consumerist and nothing special."

“Another white girl trying to blur her race.”

"She's perfect...but in a kind of weird way?"

"There's no denying she's attractive, but I see prettier girls at the bus stop every day!"

"Her whole aura is 'I'm hot, you're welcome' type, which makes people feel unattractive. She looks more like an Instagram model than a serious musician."

"I agree, I think part of it is, she's 'too attractive' in the traditional sense, you know what I mean? She meets all the criteria of a beautiful girl, but feels like a kind of co-optation by pop culture and mainstream Society over-respects beauty, which makes people feel a bit tired of aesthetics.”

As an Internet-addicted girl who spends at least several hours a day intensively surfing the Internet, Madison Beer knows these remarks by heart.

In fact, the comment that impressed her most, her favorite and least favorite, came from a Reddit user named the_alt_femme:

"If you took the ten most conventionally attractive girls from any high school in the United States and put them together, that would be what Madison Beer would look like."

You see, even the harshest critics, when referring to Madison's appearance, will pretend to be objective and say "She's good-looking, but-"

This is the core factor behind Madison's huge increase in popularity and exposure after "Cold Water".

If an Instagram celebrity looks like Madison Beer, most people will think that she is a big-breasted and brainless vase.

And if a female musician who has just won three consecutive No. 1 hits on the Billboard singles chart happens to have such a perfect face...

She would inevitably be on her way to becoming America's sweetheart.

Britney has walked this road, Beyoncé has walked it, and Rihanna has also walked it.

Now, Madison has taken the first step.

Just like Britney in the 1990s, people are more willing to mention her stunning appearance in the MV of the same name for "Cold Water" and talk about her iconic makeup than talking about her freshly released single. Suddenly, American teenage girls had a whole new aesthetic option. They begin to crave upturned eyebrows, charming fox eyes, bronzed contour sticks, and rosy blush.

Just like four years later, the Tik Tok platform is full of two-dimensional white girls imitating Bella Porchi’s sunburn makeup. On Instagram, countless Madison-Bill styles appeared overnight.

After the release of the second collaborative single "Bad Things", the vitality of this craze has been further extended.

In the first batch of released promotional photos, Madison Beal, with one hand on Machine Gun Kelly's shoulder, is the life template of every Gen Z girl.

Beautiful enough to be indisputable, beautiful enough that haters can only throw up their hands in surrender, beautiful enough to attract the baddest and handsomest boys on the block.

In the previous life, Madison Beale, who lacked representative works, was always unable to become a role model for women of the same age. We all know that in popular culture, men always exist as silent observers. Only those female stars who can win the vocal support of women can exist in the music industry for a long time and vividly.

Unable to do this, Madison could only linger on the fringes of the main stage.

But this time, with the help of Han Yi's advanced information, Madison Beer, which started again, launched two radio magnets with a listenership coverage of more than 30% in the United States. Looking at the European and American music scene, there is no other female singer of the same age. So successful, so charming, so young.

How could it not be lovable?

Times have changed, and with the aura of a champion singer around, all the so-called dirty information before has become irrelevant now. Justin Bieber’s industry plant? It was because Bieber had the foresight to discover this piece of jade first. Scooter Braun terminates her contract? That's because this idiot doesn't know how to build it, and it's a wasted opportunity. Are there nude photos all over the internet? So fake, do you still believe it? I told you it came from photoshop!

When you have fame and fortune, everything that happens in your life, no matter whether it is good or bad in nature, will be helped by a large number of keyboard historians who have never met you but who obviously know your character and thoughts well.

Look at Justin Bieber. Two years ago, he was kicked back and forth by the United States and Canada as a dirty ball. A year ago, after "Purpose" achieved double sales and good reputation, he is now back to the ranks of "perfect pop stars" .

Many people who attend music festivals feel that the ticket price is worth it only when they see their favorite headliner. Maddie knows that her name has been put on this list by many people. Therefore, although she has always been very humble, Madison knows very well that her status is much higher than when Mad City first confirmed the artist lineup, and it is even higher than that of NERVO and Migos who are behind her. The momentum grew stronger. Therefore, even if she takes the stage as an opening guest, there will definitely be many people coming to see her.

After going through the entire process of Future Now: The Tour from being ignored to being listed alongside the main posters, Madison has this confidence in herself.

However, at the same time, she is also very sober - with her current appeal, she can attract up to five to six thousand people to arrive in advance. And the 30,000 to 40,000 people seen at the scene, who arrived before the performance officially started, were definitely not here just for her. Some of them may have entered the venue early to occupy favorable viewing seats in order to avoid peak hours. Some people may want to come in advance to experience the Coca-Cola dining area, which has a wide variety of varieties and has the same price as outside restaurants. Others may be attracted by the publicity of the official accounts of Mad City's various platforms and want to watch the unprecedented real-life stage created by Han Live and the theme video that is said to be joined by two first-line film and television stars and runs throughout the festival.

This is the largest stage Madison has ever appeared on since her debut, and it is also the best battlefield for her to prove herself.

Here, she wants to prove to 40,000 people that behind the name Madison Beale, there is not only a pretty face, but also a golden voice.

Here, she also wants to prove to a person that the flowers he carefully cultivated and irrigated have come to bloom.

Moreover, he also specially prepared a celebration gift for himself, so today's performance will never disappoint him.

What exactly was he preparing?

"Attention, all citizens and visitors of Crazy City!"

"All citizens and tourists of Crazy City, please - pay attention!"

Just when Madison Beal was holding his chin and squatting on the spot, thinking wildly, the volume of the warm-up dance music played by Jonas Blue gradually decreased, and was replaced by a low but loud, slightly gritty male voice.

On the live stage, there were still no lights on, but the crowd watching the performance had begun to burst into sporadic screams and cheers.

Some viewers who are more familiar with today's Hollywood entertainment industry have already identified the owner of this voice.

"The sound of the boulder faded out."

"Stand by for full stage lights."

In front of the ChamSys MagicQ MQ80 lighting control panel at the central console of the venue, Steve Lieberman patted the shoulders of two assistant lighting engineers and signaled them to be ready to turn on the 80 control domains of the two MQ96s - these control domains, Control every light source on the Mad City stage.

When the echoes of The Rock completely dissipated in the venue, Steve Lieberman slammed his hands up to the stage and shouted loudly.

"And go full stage lights!"

Suddenly, under the rare clouds in Las Vegas, the slightly dim "Manhattan", "Hollywood Hills", "Broadway" and "Violent District" all burst out with dazzling bright lights.

The searchlight is directed at a 45-degree angle to the sky. All LED screens are flashing with dazzling starlight at high intensity. Even the nine letters of the replica Hollywood sign are outlined by a thousand high-power light bulbs. Even Madison, who was squatting behind the sign, could feel the heat wave coming from the electrical equipment operating at full capacity.

Rainy days at music festivals always make people feel a little regretful, but for Mad City’s lighting team, the pattering raindrops are their best friend. High-power spotlights sweep across the audience, passing through the air distorted by water droplets, refracting dreamy pure white light spots.

The dark sky was instantly lit up by the city of madness.

This time, the cheers that hit each other like ocean waves in the crowd were even louder, like raging waves washing over boulders, making the hearts of everyone on the dance floor slowly speed up and heat up.

"It's started!" The four McKenzie sisters stopped taking selfies and rushed excitedly to the edge of the metal railing in the booth area, and then... raised their phones again and pointed them at the main stage.

As they frequently browse Instagram, they know very well which two well-known celebrities will open the curtain of Mad City.

"No, idiot, you turned on the lights!"

Another sound came from two sound matrices, with a total of 368 speakers, and merged above the dance floor.

This sharp voice with a strong black accent made the audience completely crazy.

Even those who have not seen the teaser post on Mad City's official account have already realized this - these two stars whose voices are only heard but not seen are none other than this summer's phenomenal on-screen partner, Kevin Ha Special, with The Rock.

"light?"

"Yeah, Flash."

"Then how do you open the camera?"

"Press the button."

"Which button?"

"Stand by for lights out..."

Listening attentively to the comedy conversation between Kevin Hart and The Rock Johnson in the monitor headphones, Steve Lieberman raised his right arm again.

"Only one button!"

"The red one?"

“Only one button!!”

"Go for blackout."

Kevin Hart roared in anger, and Steve Lieberman quickly waved his hand down. All light sources on the live stage were once again extinguished.

"Go for video."

Android Jones, whose movements were significantly smaller than Steve Lieberman's, sat in a high chair and operated by himself, activating the semi-curved screen matrix on center stage.

The moment the LED screen lit up, the first visual material that tens of thousands of viewers saw was a shiny head.

After a few seconds, the head gradually moved back, shrunk, and changed its angle, until Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson raised half of his eyebrows with his signature puzzled look, his forehead was wrinkled together, and his eyes were staring at the camera.

Not far behind him was Kevin Hart, with his arms crossed and a helpless look on his face.

Both of them were wearing their costumes from "Game of the Brave". Dwayne Johnson wears a tight khaki shirt that highlights his toned muscle lines, a pair of overalls, and a pair of black Explorer leather shoes. Kevin Hart, on the other hand, is wearing a short-sleeved shirt, cargo shorts, a stuffed beige hunting vest, and a red bandana tied around his neck.

"Are you okay now? Can you see the screen?"

"Ask them!" Kevin Hart... spread out his small hands and pointed them at the audience, and another deafening scream was about to come.

"It seems you can see it."

The Rock cleared his throat, folded his hands in front of him, straightened his collar, and looked up at the camera with a serious face.

"Attention, all citizens and visitors of Crazy City!"

"This is a public service announcement from the Crazy City Border Control Agency. I am the adventurer Dr. Smulders. Standing next to me is the zoologist, 'Rat'."

"My name is Franklin Finbar...no, 'refrigerator'...no, Anthony Johnson! Not some rat!"

Kevin Hart patted The Rock's arm and corrected him with a dissatisfied look on his face.

"Don't worry about the details, 'Fridge,' we're recording a PSA."

Dwayne Johnson whispered a few words to Kevin Hart, then tilted his head to look at the camera again, smiling with a charming smile.

"Today, we will introduce you to the safety rules of Crazy City, hoping to make your work, study or travel life here more pleasant and unforgettable."

"Now, rule number one... don't - press - any buttons."

　My family had a minor surgery today and I am accompanying them, so I didn’t have time for the second update. I’m really sorry. I will try to find time in these two days. Anyway, I owe the leader’s fifth update, and I will make up for it.

　　

　

(End of this chapter)